New year, new writing goals

New year, new writing goals

Just like most people, I’ve been kinda crazy over Christmas and haven’t gotten on here to post. I’m also way behind in my blog reading. But there’s one thing I have been doing: editing!

I’ve been working a lot on my revision, and although I’m no way near making my end-of-year finish goal, I should be able to be done by the end of January. On Jan. 30 and Feb. 20, I have critiques at the Austin and Houston SCBWI conferences, respectively. I’m hoping to have my novel in great shape by then so I can start sending it out.

Quick update on the status of my first novel. You might remember that I started sending it out to agents at the end of last summer. I got a lot of requests for the manuscripts, but the replies were all in the vein of, “This is great, but not right for us right now, even though I know I’ll kick myself later.” Rejections, yes, but all very positive. One agent is still looking over the full manuscript, but, as I had finished my second novel, I decided that instead of continuing to send to other agents, I would concentrate on the revision of the second novel and go back out with that one. So, that’s what I plan to do in the early months of next year.

That’s my first goal for the new year: finish revising my second novel by the end of January and have it going out to agents and the editors at the conferences in February.

Second goal for the year: write my third novel. I’ve got a bunch of ideas stored away, but one that I had around summer has been playing in my head for months. The main character has been talking to me, and I’ve got a rough idea of where the whole story is heading. I wrote my second novel in about three months this year, so hopefully, if I can start my next novel around February or March, I can be finished around early summer.

A new year brings new opportunities to make our writing better and move forward with our manuscripts and dreams.

Wishing you all the best for 2010. My goals are to start my blog (after procrastinating for a year) and finish the last third of book two in the Chronicles of the Stone series. I’m going great guns with writing children’s articles so hopefully that’ll get me somewhere! Big hug to Sir Newton!